Soda’s empty calories are public enemy number one in the fight against obesity, and taxes on sugary drinks are an increasingly popular tool among local governments hoping to curb consumption.
Do Soda Taxes Work? Not Unless Retailers Raise Prices
According to a study of stores in Berkeley, California.
January 10, 2018
Summary.
Taxes on sugary drinks are an increasingly popular tool among local governments hoping to curb consumption. But the health benefits depend on retailers passing on at least some of the price increase to consumers — charging more for the drinks — and on consumers drinking fewer of them as a result. But that only happens if retailers pass along the added cost or change their pricing strategies. New research estimates that a soda tax reduced calorie intake among soda drinkers in Berkeley, California, by only a few calories per day.